Region
Background
British fashion designer Paul Smith approached Maharam in 2002 after seeing I Morosi alla Finestra (The Lovers at the Window), 1930 Gio Ponti designed silk, at a Ponti retrospective at the Design Museum in London. Attracted by the whimsy of the pattern, he proposed I Morosi for use as a lining in his men’s jackets. Soon after, Smith adopted various Maharam archival textiles for shoes, hats and bags, due for release in fall 2003.
Having provided textiles for use in the Paul Smith collection, Maharam invited Paul Smith to join a cadre of collaborators including Andrée Putman, Hella Jongerius and Bruce Mau, and focus his wit on the world of seating textiles. Developed in collaboration with the Maharam Design Studio, Bespoke Stripe by Paul Smith is an upholstery textile inspired by Smith’s light-hearted take on traditional British tailoring.The term “Bespoke” refers to the tailoring tradition exemplified by London’s Saville Row (a street in London known since the 1800s for fine custom tailoring and menswear). Bespoke tailoring permits a client to select the fabric, cut, style and detail of a garment, after which each one-of-a-kind piece is then meticulously handcrafted. Paul Smith offers traditional bespoke tailoring in his Westbourne Grove shop, albeit with his typical imaginative approach to lining, detailing and one-off exclusive textiles.
Product Overview
Bespoke Stripe by Paul Smith builds on the designer’s tradition of textile innovation with a collection of classic menswear fabrics designed for seating application, and features vibrant multi-colored stripes embedded in a quintessential menswear pinstripe. The seemingly random occurrence of stripes across the full width of Bespoke Stripe offers designers, in the bespoke tradition, the opportunity to customize how fabric meets furniture.
Bespoke Stripe by Paul Smith is available in a classic menswear palette, including rich browns, navy and heathered grays. Constructed of 100% wool, the textiles were designed at an upholstery weight, and meet all contract performance requirements.
Coinciding with the launch of Bespoke Stripe, and echoing the Anglo/Danish collaboration of Maharam, Kvadrat and Paul Smith, Fritz Hansen will relaunch the Oxford Chair by Arne Jacobsen, upholstered in Bespoke Stripe. Originally designed in 1965 by the Danish architect for his campus at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, the Oxford chair has been re-engineered to enhance the timeless silhouette of the original design. Bespoke Stripe by Paul Smith and Fritz Hansen’s Oxford chair by Arne Jacobsen upholstered in Bespoke Stripe will be launched at an event in Paul Smith’s Westbourne House shop in London on October 29, 2003.
Biography
Unlike any other fashion designer at work today, Paul Smith has managed to combine a flair for eccentric detail with a dedication to the highest standards of craftsmanship that has made him one of the most successful fashion designers in British history.
Smith fell into fashion design when as an out-of-work teenager his father forced him to become a runner in a local clothing warehouse. In 1976, just six years after opening his first shop, he showed his first collection on the Paris runways under the Paul Smith label. Today, his fashion empire includes eight shops in London, as well as locations in New York, Paris, Milan, and Asia – including over 200 stores in Japan. His flare for retailing includes a mélange of products: clothing, china, fragrance, a collection of furniture for Cappellini,his own furniture collection, a book - Paul Smith: You Can Find Inspiration in Everything*: (*and if you can’t, look again!), and most recently pens and watches.
Bespoke Stripe by Paul Smith
Width: 55" (140cm)
Colors: 6
Content: 100% Wool